The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-05-25


but one ring, would theyF
@The old woman made her oath to what sne
told me. I've got that pasted in the BACK Oh
nv journal. too 1t always appeared 10 me
that if a Teller knowed for certain ne mao
rood blood in him, that he could make some
thing OF himself"
asThen,' says I, Molly darling, take this
and get drunkern a billed owl That there's
for YOUR trouble It's bottle full OF lauda-
num- Bless ye, my child!'
aNext thing: How did that ring get on the
finger of the young lady that gave 1t to me
for being good lookin's There was some I'M
pleasant circumstances jined to that present
They would have worked agin me In the
minds of people with prejudice
about that time heard Of the death OF q
colored gentleman, an old friend OF mine. IL
unset my nerves completely. couldn't pear
to 60 near the place where my friend nao
died. Change of scene was all that would
restore INV sperrits. jumped the country
aBut never got my mind off that there
ring | thought about it off and on for years
And by stiddy study figgered the thing out
at last. Light broke in on me. The young
lady had a English sweetheart. which he's
married to her now blast his souli The Eng
lishrnan brought that ring over seas and gave
it TO her. How did the Englishman get 1t;
when the last heard of it twas ON rlobon
around the neck of t'other kid which wasn't
met
After that there were breaks in Rips story.
The penmanship became DINNER and more
unsteady. Yet through all the record there
ran still the one purpose of discovering what
his family had been
At one point there was mention OF law
yer feller" who turned out to be precious
rogue. Rip let him into the mystery as FAR
as he knew. Then the lawyer threw Rip over
and worked the mystery on his own account
Evidently he scented something worth taking
trouble about 1t appeared that he went to
England. He copied from the St Hildegarde
ASYLUM books the record of the admission OF
t,other kid, and his adoption afterward by an
English country family. There was even
mention and description of the ring found
with the child. 1t was taken along with him
by the family that adopted him. The lawyer
investigated further, and satisfied himself here
were both mystery and money worthy the
most distinguished legal talent. He made
legally certified copies of the information
gained and brought his papers back home
Yet he mscounted. Rip, the ragged, the
worthless; Rip the tramp, was not to be
thrown over. He pursued the lawyer feller"
like wolf Where the lawyer knew one
knew ten ways to find it out
Rip knew the hour the lawyer set foot In
his home. He followed him and badgered
him The lawyer denied everything But
Rip became satisfied the attorney had import
ant information Set thief to catch thief.
Quite true After time Lawyer Squeezlt
began to suspect he was being watched. He
had about him some papers OF value that he
thought best to remove to place of safety.
So much is to be inferred from the wandering
record.
At this point the vagabonds diary becomes
once more direct and explicit.
''Once twas fine morning. The sky was
blue and soft breeze was blowing. 1t was
so fine morning Lawyer Squeezit thought
he'd go waikiki fur his health. He was a
waikiki along with the right dignity of a
Christian jintleman with a clear conscience.
A Teller took a fit and fell down in the street.
A crowd run up around him. Providence
sent Lawyer Squeezit along there in that same
streak O. time. The crowd pushed a rough
Teller up again the gentleman and knocked
him over His nice, clean coat was nearly
clawed off him. The rough Teller helped the
gentleman up and brushed the mud off him,
and begged his pardon with the best manners
he knowed He hadn't much larnin, that
Teller hadn't Somebody in the crowd dropped
big yeller envellup. Providence put it where
the rough feller's eye lit on it the minute it
dropped He picked 1t up. When the mus
cleared away he tried to find the owner. He
was honest Teller, if he was poor, the rough
Teller was. It's Gurus, but there hain't been
no owner found for them papers down to
this yer time. They're fastened into the back
of my journal The boy that got 'em was
t'other kid what always had luck agin him.
There the journal ended, at least all that
could be made out. There was more, but it
was only incoherent Numbering. The name
of ''Carstonen could be made once or twice,
and once the name of "Edgerly," and the
word brother The tramp was on his last
legs But at the end of this strange story
there were several legal looking documents.
One was to the effect that in such year a
male child, four or five years old, parentage
unknown was found alone in room with a
dead man, recognized as burglar. The child
was taken to the st. Hildegarde asylum, and
afterward adopted by John and Frances
Edgerly of Broomshire.
tits a lie,n exclaimed Robert Edgerly.
''Tbere's some Internal mistake about it l
| don't believe word of it.
wait" said Shirley. "Write to your
| father, and tell him about it. / know a
| strange story, about two boys, twin brothers,
who were stolen from their home.n
But Robert had not SO long to wait. When
events do begin to happen, they come in a
rush. 1t was not a day later when the young
| man got this letter:
"MY DEAR SoN-My health is failing,
more rapidly than you think for. l want
| you and Brownie to come home and stay
| with me the rest of my time
There is something on my mind to tell
| you. l ought to have told you before, but
| never could bring myself to do it. You would
know it after my death, at any rate. Per-
haps it may not be SO terrible to you to hear
| the truth from me. am sure my wife and l
| could not have teen more tenderly attached
| TO you if we had been your real parents. And
| no son could have been more devoted and
dutiful than you always were to us; no son
| could have realized more faithfully fathers
| and mothers brightest, fohdest hopes.
'But, Robert, my boy, you were not our
own son. We were absent from home for
several years. On our return we adopted
| you, lonely stray little boy, in the st.
| Hidegarde orphan asylum. None of our old
| friends knew but you were our own. You
| never knew it.
Your parentage is unknown. The only
clew is the forget-me-not ring, found fastened
| to a black ribbon around your neck, with its
| inscription and date inside, 'Myra, from
| Philip july 1854 But am sure you came
| of good blood. When we found you there
was still that about you that showed you had
| been tenderly cared for.
II would spare myself forever the pain of
| telling you this, only it is necessary you
| should know you are not to be my heir. The
| estate must go to distant relative, now in
| Australia. There is another thought that
gives me anxiety, now that l know / am
| nearing my death. / have not been able to
save much for you from my income. In
| truth, have let you spend so much money in
my lifetime that there will not be much left
| for you after am dead. And still, even that
causes me less trouble than it would il / did
| not know how capable you and strong
| / never brought you up to despise work, my
| son. In the New World, the land of prom
| Use, know you will easily make your way.
| But not now. Now you must come home, YOU
and Brownie, and come at once, to one who,
| as long as he lives, must still call himself
"Your loving father, JOHN EDGERLY.n
| The whole story was out. The American
| tramp and the English gentleman were twin
| brothers, of one blood, one race, one parent
| age, and even that unknown.
Here was a blow which staggered Robert
| Edgerly at lastl
He and Brownie and Shirley had been read
| ing the letter, with their heads together, all
at once. Roberts head dropped upon the
| table in front of him. Shirley could not
| bear it.
"Roberti brother said she, don't Hardly
| anything is worth taking serious view of in
| this life Nav be it'll even turn out you're an
| abominable American at last,n
| But it was too much, this sudden whirling
| upside down of all his existence. He got
| upon his feet. Where was his pride of race,
i of family!
| 1-l-ueftf was - cut up III NY me- ne
| said family. aWho am IL Nobody, with no
country, no name. I'm nobodyis sonlp
| He choked up, and turned away to the
| window. Shirley followed him and linked
| her arm through his.
But you're somebody's BROTHER she said,
land very dear one.r
Brownie cuddled up to him on the other
| side
.sAnd I'm sure you're somebody's husband, y
Brownie nlurmured, land the darlingest that
ever was
And with two beautiful women, the dear
est beings on earth to him thus consoling